Ex-UK General: US Iraq Policy Flawed

Ex-UK General: US Iraq Policy Flawed

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LONDON - The head of the British army during the Iraq invasion described former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's approach as "intellectually bankrupt," according to comments published Saturday.

Gen. Sir Mike Jackson, who retired in August 2006 as chief of the general staff, said Rumsfeld was "one of those most responsible for the current situation in Iraq," in excerpts from an autobiography that were published by The Daily Telegraph.

For Rumsfeld and his supporters "it was an ideological article of faith that the coalition soldiers would be accepted as a liberating army," Jackson wrote.

In his book, which the newspaper will serialize starting Monday, Jackson also criticizes the U.S. approach toward tackling global terrorism as inadequate, accusing Washington of relying too heavily on military power at the expense of nation building and diplomacy.

Jackson's comments were the most outspoken criticism of U.S. policy in Iraq yet by a senior British officer. Previously he had warned that British troops faced fierce combat in Iraq and Afghanistan without adequate resources or government support.

Last year, Gen. Richard Dannatt, the current head of all three of Britain's armed forces, called for his troops to be withdrawn from Iraq soon, saying their presence was provoking rather than preventing violence.

Rumsfeld stepped down as defense secretary in November, one day after midterm elections in which opposition to the war in Iraq contributed to heavy Republican losses. Later at his goodbye ceremony, he took a slap at advocates of an early withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Iraq war.

"It may well be comforting to some to consider graceful exits from the agonies and, indeed, the ugliness of combat," he said. "But the enemy thinks differently."

In an interview with the Telegraph on Saturday, Jackson also defended British forces' performance in southern Iraq, dismissing charges made by a U.S. general last month that Britain had allowed deteriorating security in southern Iraq to get worse.

He said Britain's mission was to hand security responsibilities to Iraqis once the coalition and Iraqi authorities were satisfied they were capable of taking over.

Britain has successfully handed over three of four southern provinces to Iraqi forces, he said. Officials say London hopes to pass control of Basra, the remaining district, to local forces by the end of the year.

Further

Lord, what would John Lennon have made of the Trump monster? Marking Thursday's 36th anniversary of Lennon's murder, Yoko Ono posted a plea for gun control, calling his death "a hollowing experience" and pleading, "Together, let's bring back America, the green land of Peace." With so many seeking solace in these ugly times, mourns one fan, "Oh John, you really should be here." Lennon conceded then, and likely would now, "Reality leaves a lot to the imagination."